Combined ironing-board and washstand.



J. H. HAVECOTTE. COMBINED IRONING BOARD AND WASHSTAND.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30,1909.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

{Jaw/717mm? JOHN H. I-IAVECOTTE,

or SOMERVILLE,

TEXAS.

COMBINED IRONING-BOARD AND VTASl-ISTAND.

esoaoa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Application filed July 30, 1989. Serial No. 510,369.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. Hiivnoo'rrn, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Somerville, in the county of Burleson and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Combined Ironing-Board and Washstand, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to combined ironing-boards and wash-stands and has for an objectto provide a device of this character which may be permanently hinged to the side wall of a room, and may be dropped down into a horizontal position to present a fabric covered ironing-board, and may be folded back into upright position against the wall to present a convenient wash-stand.

The invention consists in the novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

For a detailed description of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a view of a combined ironingboard and wash-stand constructed in accordance with my invention, shown in two positions. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same' Fig. 3 is a cross section through the line A B Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, 1 designates a wall-plate which is substantially rectangular in cross section and is provided with a plurality of openings 2 designed to receive screws, or similar connectors 3 for securing the plate to the side wall of a room.

Formed in the opposite end faces of the wall plate are alined openings 4, to loosely engage the terminals of a hinge frame comprising a pair of spaced parallel side bars 5 and 6 connected together at one end by a transverse bar 7 adapted to be held parallel with the front face of the wall-plate and upon which the ironing-board 8 is supported.

The ironin -board 8 is preferably made tapering in facial contour, as shown, the head or butt portion 9 being substantially the same in width as the bottom face 10 of the wall-plate in order to provide a sufficient width of bearing surface, when the butt of the ironing board has been swung into contact with the bottom face of the wall-plate, to prevent any lateral or rocking movement of the parts.

Formed in the marginal edges of the ironing board is a recess or channel 11 in which I the edges of a fabric cover 12 may be tacked or otherwise secured the surface of the fabric is thus brought flush with the surface of the lateral faces of the ironing-board so that no portion of the fabric cover will be visible from the front of the board when it is folded back into an upright position against the wall.

Formed in the under surface of the ironing board is a rabbet or mortise 13 to receive a reinforcing plate 14. The rein forcing plate consists essentially of a strip of wood, metal or other material, set into the mortise 13 so that its exposed surface will be flush with the under surface of the ironing-board. As is evident, this reinforcing element will prevent any warping or twisting out of shape of the adjacent portions of the ironing-board and will provide a rigid support and wear plate for the transverse bar 7 which is loosely engaged through keepers 15 secured to the face of the reinforcing plate, as shown.

It is evident that when the ironing-board swung out from the wall the reinforcing plate will receive the jar as the butt end of the board comes into contact with the bottom face of the wall-plate and will so distribute the strain over the under surface of the ironing-board as to prevent any tendency for the same to be split or snapped off, adjacent the transverse bar of the hinge frame in case of the board accidentally dropping down from its upright position on the wall.

Positioned on the upper surface of the ironing-board, adjacent its butt end is a stop 16 adapted for contact with the front face of the wall-plate. The stop is formed substantially rectangular in contour and is adapted to engage the wall plate, when the board is in horizontal position, and the side wall of the room when the board is in a Vertical position. The stop when in contact with the side wall of a room will hold the bottom portion of the device spaced from the wall so that the top portion will not be tilted forward when it is desired to use the device as a wash-stand.

In order that the device may be used as a wash-stand, a shelf 17 designed to support a wash-basin is secured to the front face of the reinforcing element, the peculiar advan tage of this position of the shelf is that water splashing from the basin will adhere to the reinforcing element and will not come into contact with any portion of the ironing board proper or its fabric covering, thus the proximity of the water to the ironing-board will in no way effect the efficient operation of the device as such, as moisture can not be deposited on the ironing surface at any time.

To promote the folding back of the iron ing board to the side wall of a room, the butt end or end of the board nearest to the wall of the room must be weighted. To accomplish this I attach a cabinet to the reverse face of the butt end of the ironing board which performs the function of a counter balancing weight and at the same time may be utilized for storing fiat irons and various other utensils. The lateral sides 18 of the cabinet extend over the face of the reinforcing element to the shelf and are provided with openings 19 that arch over the transverse bar of the hinge frame.

The free end of the frame or transverse bar 7 is thus so positioned relatively to the cabinet that the ironing board is virtually balanced on the frame and may be rocked parallel to the side wall to expose the cabinet or may be rocked to a horizontal position to expose the ironing surface of the board with a minimum amount of manual exertion.

The cabinet door 20 is preferably provided with a latch or lock 21 which will prevent the door from swinging downward when the device is in horizontal position.

Above the shelf is positioneo a comb-tray of any approved form of construction, but preferably formed with the front wall 23 inclined outwardly so that combs, brushes, etc. contained within the tray may be easily slid out over the inclined front wall when the device is about to be rocked downward from the side wall.

Positioned above the comb-tray is a mirror 24, which may be made of any approved form of construction and secured in position in any desired manner, the connection here being shown by a molding or frame 25 placed over the side top and bottom edges of the mirror and suitably secured to the face of the ironing board.

An eye 26 is disposed adjacent the mirror and is designed to receive the shank of a removable towel rack which may be easily disengaged from the eye when the device is about to be used as an ironing-board.

In order to hold the device locked in vertical position, a button 27 provided with a downwardly projecting lug 28 is secured to the wall of the room adjacent the top edge of the free end of the ironing-board. In operation, the downwardly projecting lug of the button will loosely engage the outer surface of the ironing-board and hold the same locked in its upright position, until released by the operator.

It is thus seen, that a convenient washstand and ironing board have been provided, that the ironing-board may be easily folded back against the wall as a slight push will be sufficient to cause the counterbalanced end to gravitate, that the reinforcing element will bear the racking strains of adjusting the device to operative position or removing it from the same, and finally that by utilizing the counterbalancing weight or cabinet for storage purposes the device is ficing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. A combination ironing board comprising an ironing board equipped with a receptacle constitutinga counterbalancing weight, a frame pivoted at one end to the side wall of a room and at its free end pivoted to said ironing board adjacentv said receptacle, the free end of said frame being connected to the reverse face of the ironing board and so disposed relatively to the receptacle that the board is virtually balanced on said frame whereby the board may be rocked back parallel with the wall to expose said receptacle or may be rocked to a horizontal position to expose the ironing surface of the board with a minimum amount of manual exertion.

2. A combination ironing board consisting of an ironing board, a cabinet secured to the reverse face of said ironing board adjacent one end and constituting a counterbalancing weight, a frame pivoted at one end to the side wall of a room and at its free end pivotally connected to said board adjacent said cabinet, the free end of said frame being connected to the ironing board intermediate the ends of the board and so disposed relatively to the cabinet that the board is virtually balanced on the frame and may be rocked back parallel with the wall to expose the cabinet or may be rocked to a horizontal position'to expose the ironing surface of the board with minimum manual exertion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. HAVECOTTE.

Witnesses:

A THUR H. BANNON, EMMA J oHNs'roN. 

